FUTA threatens to resume strike

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) threatened to launch another strike, if the government failed to settle their salary anomalies in Budget 2014.

FUTA Chairman, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, said the government has so far attended to only a few of their demands, even after a written undertaking to attend to all of them in response to their trade union action. In these circumstances, he said, FUTA would be compelled to resume their suspended trade union action.

 “We suspended our trade union action, which lasted 99 days from 4 July 2012, in view of an agreement reached with the Central Bank Governor that the government will appoint a five-member committee headed by Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara to look into the salary issues of the university teachers. We had nominated our two representatives about six months ago, but the government has failed to appoint the committee as yet,” FUTA Chairman charged.

 He also said when the university student intake was increased due to the ‘Z’ score bungle, the authorities promised to increase teachers’ salaries by 25 per cent. “Those students are now in their second semester, yet the promised salary increase is still pending,” he pointed out.

 Dr. Dewasiri accused the government of failing to honour its promise to introduce procedures to resolve university teachers’ salary anomalies within five years and also the promise to stop political interferences into university affairs.

He also reminded the authorities that they are looking forward to the forthcoming budget as the President had told them previously that the salary matters can be resolved only through budgetary measures.

 “We have appointed a three-member committee to keep a tab on how they resolve our problems. Its report is expected within one month. The government is under the impression that we cannot amass a sufficient number to our trade union action. But we have already proved that we can do it,” he said.

Source CeylonToday
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